Estrella TV, the third-ranked Spanish language TV network behind Univision and Telemundo, says cable giant Comcast is discriminating against the network in order to benefit its own Spanish language networks Telemundo and NBC Universo. Denver, Houston and Salt Lake City are the key markets where Estrella has been affected.

Estrella’s owner, Liberman Broadcasting, on April 8 filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against Comcast charging violations of the FCC’s Program Carriage regulations, as well as of the merger conditions imposed on Comcast when it acquired NBCUniversal.

“In Denver we were the No. 2 Spanish language network in the market. When Comcast took us off the air, our ratings have essentially evaporated and their networks have done very well.” (Telemundo Denver has new offices and studios within the Comcast Media Center.)

In Denver, Estrella is available on DISH and DirecTV but not on Comcast. Its most popular programs include entertainment fare “Tengo Talenta Mucho Talenta” and “Rica Famosa Latina.”

Liberman Broadcasting is the largest minority-owned Hispanic broadcast company in the U.S., and the family-owned parent company of Estrella.

The case seeks to present “clear and compelling evidence that Comcast has discriminated against Estrella TV to benefit its own properties,” and, further, it claims Comcast is asking Estrella to relinquish digital rights of its content as a condition for carriage.

“They’ve made demands nobody else has and they’ve made no offers to us (for compensation),” said Liberman. “In the case of Time Warner there was give and take.” In the case of Comcast there was none, he said.

Updated April 8, 2016 at 12:15 p.m.: Due to a reporting error, the quotes above were wrongly attributed to Liberman Broadcasting’s counsel. The speaker on the teleconference was in fact Lenard Liberman, co-founder of the network.

Starz is making a push for Hispanic viewers, with three series announced in development from Hispanic creators, writers and producers.

“Maleficio,” a thriller based on the popular Mexican telenovela production that originally aired in 1983-84; “Pour Vida,” a half-hour dramedy set in East L.A., inspired by a Richard Villegas Jr. short story; and “Santeria,” an original supernatural drama from Alejandro Brugues (“Juan of the Dead”) and Eduardo Sanchez (“The Blair Witch Project”).

The three productions are part of a continued push for diversity on the part of TV networks and streaming services. Starz has seen some success with its series targeting African-Americans (notably “Power,” its highest-rated series, and “Survivor’s Remorse”), and with its shows aimed mainly at women (“Outlander,” “Flesh and Bone,” “The White Queen”).

For “Malefico,” Starz has partnered with Televisa USA, a division of the Mexican media company Grupo Televisa, to develop the series.

Additionally, Starz has put in development “Havana Quartet” starring and executive produced by Antonio Banderas.

Estrella TV, the No. 3 Hispanic broadcaster in the U.S. behind Univision and Telemundo, may be be pulled from the Comcast lineup in Denver, Houston and Salt Lake City effective Feb. 19 when the current carriage agreement expires.

Comcast and Estrella are in a standoff over a carriage agreement. Whether Estrella is about to be dropped by Comcast or Comcast is about to lose Estrella is a matter of debate.

According to Comcast: “Comcast already distributes Estrella TV programming broadly as Estrella’s largest distributor and we have been negotiating in good faith for months with Liberman Broadcasting to continue carrying its broadcast signals in these three markets, which represent only 20 percent of our total Estrella distribution.

“Most importantly, Comcast is not dropping Estrella – it is Estrella that has decided to pull its signal from Comcast customers. In fact, we’ve offered to continue to carry their stations under the existing arrangements, which are the same terms we have with other, comparable networks. ”

Estrella plans a campaign — “No Pierdas Estrella TV” — to protest the move and Comcast’s “bullying tactics.” Estrella is the No. 2 Spanish-language broadcaster in Denver behind Univision (beating Telemundo, which is owned by Comcast). The company noted the timing, suggesting Comcast’s decision to force Estrella TV off the air comes as Comcast’s own Spanish-language network, Telemundo, has seen a growing percentage of its viewership switch to Estrella TV.

For its part, “We do not believe Comcast’s customers should have to pay millions of dollars for Estrella’s broadcast programming that has very limited appeal,” according to a Comcast statement. Contrary to Estrella’s assertions, these stations are not widely viewed among Latino audiences. We have reached thousands of agreements with broadcasters and programmers without ever experiencing an interruption of service and are proud to be the nation’s largest cable provider of Spanish language network packages, with a distribution platform that delivers more than 60 Hispanic cable networks on the majority of Comcast Cable systems. We hope to reach a fair agreement with Liberman and avoid service interruptions. So long as Liberman reciprocates our ongoing good faith negotiations, our customers should not lose this programming.”

Estrella cast the battle in Biblical terms:

“This has been a real-life David versus Goliath battle, with our minority-owned company fighting one of the largest companies in America, and armed with a simple message: let the people watch what they want to watch,” said Estrella TV Founder and Chairman José Liberman. “With Estrella TV now surpassing Telemundo in the Los Angeles market and elsewhere, it is troubling to see Comcast act irresponsibly by putting its own self-serving business interests ahead of a small minority-owned company, and ahead of Comcast’s Hispanic customers.”

Let’s play cultural anthropologist, peering into the strange habits of the Millennial Man. Observe him under his headphones, hunting and gathering on the Internet, grunting via social media. Nielsen is out today with another of its impersonal but statistically accurate reports, this time on the media habits of Millennial Men.

Offering a heads up to marketers, “new research from Nielsen offers a sneak peek into the hearts and minds of this desirable demographic.”

They spend less time watching traditional TV each week — “only 20 hours, compared to 23 hours for Millennial females, 28 hours for Gen X males and 38 hours for Boomer males.” But they more than make up the time online — “This group spends significantly more time (2 hours 15 minutes) per week than any other demographic watching videos on the Internet.”

The breakdown by race:
o African-American Millennial males spend more time watching content than Millennial men as a whole: these viewers spend nearly 33 hours a week with traditional TV and 3 hours watching videos on the Internet.

o Hispanic Millennial men watch less than the average Millennial man, spending an hour less (19 hours) on traditional TV and less than 2 hours watching online videos.

o Asian-American Millennial men spend the most time watching videos on the Internet, almost 4 hours watching internet video and the least amount of time watching traditional TV (11.5 hours).

There’s a reason why “Jane the Virgin” made so many TV critics’ best-of-Fall 2014 lists (including mine).
This sweet, funny, Hispanic-flavored hour — partly a sendup of a telenovela, partly an homage to the form — is something different, set in Miami, with bold visuals and a fast pace, plus a break-out actress at its center. Gina Rodriquez is the real thing.

“Jane the Virgin” is a charmer, part loving family relationships, part over-the-top surreal comedy, based on a Venezuelan telenovela.

The tone aims to be “Ugly Betty” meets “Gilmore Girls,” according to executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman (who was a producer on “Gilmore”).

Viewers may also be reminded of the magical realism of a series like “Pushing Daisies.” There’s a story-book, fairy-tale element to the proceedings that adds to the innocent, quirky humor.

The premise is admittedly thin, but it spirals into a rich tale with lots of possibilities. An upwardly striving young woman is accidentally artificially inseminated during a routine gynecological exam when room numbers are confused — and now her life is as complicated and dramatic as the telenovelas she’s grown up watching. Silly, right?

In the wrong hands this would have been a clunky disaster. But the amount of heart and humor in the set up is significant, so that you are invested in this carefully virginal young woman and her close knit family, and you care that she now finds herself pregnant.

Her devout grandmother, Abuela Alba, who values virginity above all, will not be pleased. Her single mother suspects a miracle is involved. Their Spanish-language reactions to the craziness translate easily for non-Spanish-speaking viewers. And the tale is on, complete with Jane’s patient and understanding boyfriend and the couple who had intended this particular sperm for their own use.

Will viewers find “Jane” on a network they aren’t accustomed to watching? The fact that the show is “off brand” for CW may be confusing. CW is best known for the genre pieces, “Supernatural,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Arrow” and, now, “The Flash.” CW execs hope adding the high concept “Jane the Virgin” is a way to balance out the network’s viewership with more females.

Benjamin Bratt (son of a Peruvian mother) will narrate a six-hour documentary series called “Latino Americans,” slated for fall 2013 on PBS.

The producers aim to document “the evolution of a new “Latino American” identity from the 1500s to the present day, with interviews with close to 100 Latinos from the worlds of politics, business and pop culture.” That means the familiar Rita Moreno to Gloria Estefan span, as far as entertainment history is concerned.

Cuban-born Adriana Bosch (who previously produced the excellent “Latin Music U.S.A.” for “American Experience”) leads the team of filmmakers. Word is the production crew is largely Hispanic as well.

This week’s episode of “Glee” was particularly nerdy, not least because of the “Glee-ified” Gangnam style production number. Now comes word that Spanish-language broadcaster Univision plans to cash in on the most-watched YouTube sensation as part of its December lineup. Get ready for yet another round of “Eh, sexy lady!” etc. etc., Gangnam style, done Hispanic style.

PSY, whose dance epic is the most-watched video in viral video history, will make his first appearance on Spanish-language TV on Univision’s long-running variety show “Sabado Gigante” on Dec. 8.

Nobody in Colorado is complaining about the lack of political advertising lately. As a swing state, we’re seeing and hearing more than our share. There’s one exception, however, and that’s the Hispanic media market.

A U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce study found that while close to $360 million was spent on political advertising in 10 states from early April through September, just $16 million — or 4.6 percent of the total — went to ad buys on Spanish-language TV. The Obama campaign and supporting organizations have spent $7 million — or 9 percent — of their ad dollars on Spanish-language ads, while the Romney campaign and its supporters have spent $3.2 million, or 4 percent.Read more…

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.